Buying Or Selling A Business

We have significant experience in advising clients through the process of buying a new business or selling an existing one. 

Some of the ways that we are able to assist include:

• Working with legal counsel on the drafting of the LOI and purchase agreement with a specific view towards tax and accounting related issues
• Pre-sale “purification” planning to provide access to lifetime capital gains exemptions or otherwise reduce taxes owing
• Pre-sale planning to increase the value of a business
• Advising on the ownership structure of the purchaser company with a view to minimizing future taxes
• Preparation of tax election forms such as those required for earnout consideration, non-compete agreements, GST/HST, assets transferred on a rollover basis
• Tax and financial due diligence on the target company to identify potential risk areas before the transaction is finalized.
• Assessment of target working capital
• Preparation of closing date working capital computations
• Tax planning to manage Alternate Minimum Tax which is often applicable where an individuals claims a capital gains exemption
• Advising on the tax consequences of an asset sale versus a share sale
• Working with legal counsel on the drafting of a shareholders’ agreement for companies with multiple owners